1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to telephony and more particularly to a telephone test jack adapted for mounting on a printed circuit card and permitting a male type test plug to be inserted therein to permit conversation monitoring or other testing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Existing test jacks for use with telephone circuitry are conventionally made up of a number of contact springs separated by insulators with insulated screws passed through holes in both the insulators and springs to form a rigid assembly. The entire assembly is then affixed by means of the screws using some convenient piece of hardware adjacent to the circuit to be tested and wire circuit connections are made to a terminal end of each spring.
Such arrangements do not readily adapt themselves to mounting on printed circuit boards inasmuch as they require a separate bracket or the terminal arrangement must be modified for connection to the printed circuit board. Frequently the resulting arrangement does not provide adequate rigidity and mechanical integrity with the printed circuit board. Such an arrangement when a test plug is inserted into the test jack often causes associated conductors to be broken.
In addition, the phenolic insulators used between the springs are affected by both temperature and humidity resulting in changes in the tightness or mechanical integrity of the jack assembly. The insulators also are frequently of inflammable material and thus not in accordance with current safety standards.